A challenge of veterinary public health in the European Union: human trichinellosis due to horse meat consumption

Abstract

Human trichinellosis in the European Union due to insufficiently cooked horse meat consumption has been reported in France and in Italy during the past 25 years. It occurred in several outbreaks totalling more than 3,000 patients during this period, with a low mortality and a high morbidity. Causative Trichinella species or phenotypes were determined by the International Reference Laboratory for Trichinellosis in Rome, Italy. They were: Trichinella spiralis, T. britovi and T. murelli. As the culinary habits and customs of populations cannot be changed by regulations, measures of protection of public health essentially depend on food inspection. Comprehensive studies having been conducted in the pathophysiology of Trichinella infection in horses; it was demonstrated that the localisation of larvae are quite different in horses and in pork. It resulted an instruction from the French Veterinary, Service recommending that: the sampling of muscles in horses carcasses has to be done at first in the tongue (apex), then in the diaphragm (pillars); at least 50 g have to be sampled in each site; examination for larvae has to be done with the digestion method. Such recommendations might be extended to other EU member countries then to the OIE Zoo-Sanitary Code.